‘Temp’ helps keep cafe open
‘We all worked like legends’
For two days, a South Taranaki bar owner poured coffees instead of beers to help her friend’s cafe stay open after three staff members went down with Covid19 a day apart.
Donnella Weir owns Hāwera bar The Burnt Place, but last week she became a barista at nearby Arabica Cafe, owned by her friend Nadine Vandenberg.
‘‘It just left myself and another staff member and a new girl on her first day,’’ Vandenberg said.
They got through by only serving drinks and cabinet food, but with no time to restock and bake, Vandenberg decided to close altogether for the Thursday and Friday, and posted a message to her customers on social media.
Weir saw the post and offered to help.
‘‘She actually saved the day,’’ Vandenberg said.
‘‘We had two really massive days; we all worked like legends.
‘‘She [Donnella] did an amazing job. I got so many people saying ‘this coffee is awesome’.’’
The staff shortage coincided with the school holidays, so the cafe was already busy, and when word got out about Vandenberg’s plight, locals started popping in to show their support.
Others made a point of going to The Burnt Place in the evenings to support Weir.
‘‘That’s the cool thing about living in a small country town,’’ Vandenberg said.
‘‘Everyone knows each other and we all join in and we support each other one way or another. Everyone has got everyone else’s back because times are so hard.’’
Weir said she had not made so much coffee for some time, but she and Vandenberg, who have been friends for 18 years, had worked together in the past.
‘‘She said she had three staff members off, so I messaged her and said I’d go down to help her get through.’’
It was a very busy two days, but they had plenty of fun and laughs, Weir said.
‘‘That’s the cool thing about living in a small country town. Everyone knows each other and we all join in and we support each other one way or another.’’
Nadine Vandenberg